Egg package



Dec. 21, 1965 H. R. vlcsuE 3,224,618

EGG PACKAGE Filed March 9, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR HemgR ATTORNEYS Dec. 21, 1965 Filed March 9, 1964 H. R. VIGUE EGG PACKAGE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVETOR Henry I?. Vigne ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ohfice 3,224,618 EGG PACKAGE Henry R. Vigne, 18 Pleasant St., Waterville, Maine Filed Mar. 9, 1964, Ser. No. 350,302 Claims. (Cl. 21T-26.5)

This invention relates to and more particularly retail quantities of eggs.

Prior to the present invention, eggs have long been retail merchandized in packages of one dozen or less, and a vast number of containers have been proposed in which such quantities may be packaged. Increasingly, however, retail egg sellers have found the average housewife consumer purchasing several packages of a dozen eggs at spaced intervals such as once a week. Aside from the inconvenience of handling several small containers of one dozen each, the prior egg packaging arrangements involve unnecessarily multiplied cost factors for packaging when quantities of several dozen eggs are purchased simultaneously.

Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a molded pulp egg tray for holding a desired quantity of eggs in cooperation with an outer container providing a merchandizing unit.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a molded pulp egg tray including pocket means for positioning three dozen eggs in an easily accessible arrangement without sacrificing vertical reinforcement adjacent each-egg.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art from a reading of the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts, and in which:

FIG. l is a perspective view of the egg package according to this invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the molded pulp egg tray of this invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional elevational view on line 3 3 of FIG. 2 showing details of the egg tray;

FIG. 4 is a sectional elevational view on line 4-4 of FIG. 2 showing details of the egg tray; and

FIG. 5 -is a sectional elevational view on line 5-5 of FIG. 2 showing details of the egg tray.

Referring in more particularity to the drawings, the package illustrated in FIG. 1 comprises a generally rectangular outer container or carton 12 having an upper wall I4 and a lower wall 16 parallel therewith and connected thereto by vertical side walls 18. End walls 2t) may be of the type which incude a tuck-in Hap 22 and which may ibe folded open for access to the contents of the box or carton. The carton 12 may be of cardboard, chipboard, plastic or any other suitable materials singly or in combination; and, if desired, it may include in the upper wall 14 a window portion 24 including a flexible transparent pane 26 to protect the carton contents from dirt and other contaminant while affording a view of the carton contents.

Within the carton 12, and extending throughout essentially the full lateral dimensions thereof is a molded pulp tray 28 in the form of an integral molded pulp sheet contoured to provide a plurality of egg-receiving pockets 30. The tray is provided with a peripheral rim 32 which constitutes the base plane of the tray, and from this base plane a plurality of rows of hollow posts 34 extend up- Wardly while alternately arranged rows of generally complementary posts 36 depend downward-ly. The bottoms of the downwardly depending posts 36 lie generally in a common substantially flat plane.

In addition to being arranged in alternate parallel rows, the posts are also arranged in `alternate columns packages for fragile articles, to an arrangement for packaging 3,224,618 Patented Dec. 21, 1965 which extend transversely to the rows. Ribs 38 connect the upstanding posts to the posts adjacent thereto both in the rows and in the columns. The ribs 38 which radiate out from each post 34 also act to encompass each pocket 30 formed by the downwardly depending posts 36 in a generally square pattern with the posts 34 at each corner of such square. At the edges of the tray, adjacent the peripheral rim 32, half-posts 40 are provided with edge ribs 42 connecting therebetween; these ribs 42 are higher than the ribs 38. Flattened de-stacking flanges 40 may be provided on opposite sides of the tray to aid in automatic dispensing of such trays from a stack thereof. Projecting laterally from the upward-ly extending posts 34 in alternate rows of such posts are small lugs 44 integrally connected between such posts and the tops of opposed ribs 38. The lugs 44- serve as positioning shoulders for trays in a stack to provide for easy destacking thereof.

From an examination of FIG. 2, the depending hollow posts 36 form thirty-six egg-receiving pockets 30 arranged in six rows of six pockets each. Each such egg-receiving pocket, as noted above, is surrounded by four of the upstanding hollow posts 34 which generally occupy the four corners of an imaginary square. Some of the upstanding posts extend higher above the flat plane in which the bottoms of the depending posts 36 lie than do others of the upstanding posts 34. For instance, the posts numbered 46 extend to a height which is at least as great as the maximum anticipated dia-metral dimension of eggs which the pockets are to receive. This height corresponds with the dept-h of the side walls 18 of the carton l2. The upper surfaces of the high posts 44.3 lie generally in a common substantially at plane essentially parallel with the plane in which the bottoms of the hollow posts 36 lie to form support surfaces for the upper wall 14 of the container 12 in which the filled egg tray is inserted.

The remainder of the upstanding hollow posts 34 extend only to a height which is approximately one-half, but advisably no more than two-thirds, the height of the higher upstanding posts 46. The upper surfaces of these remaining lower upstanding posts lie generally in a common substantially flat plane which is parallel with but spaced below the plane in which the upper` surfacesof the higher posts 46 lie. The height of the remaining lower upstanding posts 34 is such as to allow easy nger gripping of eggs near their zone of maximum girth for individual removal from the pockets, but high enough to retain eggs properly in their pockets. As seen in FIG. 3, the eggs (indicated in dash-dot line) in the pockets are positioned closely adjacent one another lfor maximum economy of packaging. l

rPhe higher upstanding posts 46 are arranged in a pattern such that each egg-receiving pocket is provided with at least one such high post in the four upstanding posts which surround it. Additionally, each egg-receiving pocket is provided with at least two of the lower upstanding posts among the four which surround it. The latter two lower upstanding posts are positioned diagonally from each other lon the imaginary square to provide enough space on o-pposed sides of each egg-receiving pocket to permit easy finger gripping of eggs (-FIG. 5) for individual removal from the pockets even though the eggs are positioned extremely close to one another. In the illustrated embodiment, there are nine such higher upstanding hollow posts 46 arranged in a pattern wherein each of the thirty-six eggreceiving pockets 30 is surrounded by -one of the high and three of the low upstanding posts 34.

In use, egg trays according to this invention may be lilled after standard tray filling practices, and the filled trays thereafter inserted in merchandizing containers such as the carton 12. This provides a rugged package including at least one high reinforcing post adjacent each egg pocket to support the upper wall 14 of the carton 12 so that a plurality of such lled boxes may be stacked upon one another without danger of crushing eggs in the lower boxes in the stack. Additionally, if a transparent portion 26 is provided, such a package aifords clear visibility of the eggs in the container for utmost consumer appeal. Moreover, each such individual .package closely approximates the quantity of eggs purchased by an average housewife consumer at one time. Upon receipt of the consumer, the end ap 20 of the carton 12 is opened after the Well-known fashion and the molded pulp egg tray 28 pulled outwardly to the extent desired to expose the number of eggs which are to 4be removed at one time. The pattern in which the several high and the remaining low upstanding posts are arranged is such that eggs may be easily gripped and removed from every pocket without interference from the high reinforcing posts previously encountered in such open trays. The egg tray 28 may be stored directly on a refrigerator Shelf by the consumer until all eggs have been used, or may be stored in the carton 12 on a refrigerator shelf for increased protection of unused eggs, if desired.

Thus, an egg packaging arrangement has been disclosed which provides a desired quantity of eggs in a single package which is sufficiently rugged to be handled by existing transportation and retail merchandizing channels. Moreover, the arrangement provides an attractive package meeting the current high standards of the egg retailing trade while providing a package easily carried and opened by the ultimate consumer, such as a housewife. Finally, the configuration of the molded pulp egg tray insert itself provides complete protection against egg crushing while still providing easy access for individually removing eggs from the pockets.

While the above described embodiment constitutes the preferred mode of practicing this invention, other embodiments and equivalents may be resorted to within the scope of the actual invention, which is claimed as follows.

What is claimed is:

1. A pocketed egg tray for holding a single layer of eggs in closely spaced array which may be inserted in a container, the tray being in the form of an integral molded pulp sheet bordered by a peripheral rim and contoured to provide a plurality of egg-receiving pockets lying generally in a common substantially flat plane, fourupstanding posts surrounding every egg-receiving pocket and generally occupying the four corners of an imaginery square, some of the upstanding posts extending significantly higher above the at plane than the remainder of the upstanding posts, the remainder of the upstanding posts and the peripheral rim extending only to a height which is no more than approximately two-thirds the height of the higher upstanding posts, the higher upstanding posts being arranged in a pattern whereby the four upstanding posts surrounding every egg-receiving pocket' include at least one of the high posts and at least two of the remaining low posts, the latter two being located diagonally from each other on the imaginary square to facilitate fingertip insertion for egg removal, and the upper surfaces of the higher upstanding posts lying generally in a common substantially flat plane essentially parallel with the plane in which the bottoms of the pockets lie to form support surfaces for the upper wall of the container in which the tray maybe inserted.

2. The pocketed egg tray of claim 1 wherein the higher upstanding posts are positioned interiorly of the tray to provide protection from vertical forces in that region, and a container in which the tray may be inserted including vertical side walls to provide protection from vertical forces in that region.

3. The pocketed egg tray of claim 1 wherein every egg-receiving pocket in the tray is surrounded by four upstanding posts including at least one of the high posts and at least two of the remaining low posts located diagonally from each other.

4. The pocketed egg tray of claim 1 wherein the plurality of egg-receiving pockets -comprises six rows of six egg-receiving pockets each for a total of thirty-six eggreceiving pockets in the tray.

5. The pocketed egg tray of claim 4 wherein nine high posts are arranged so that one is adjacent each of the thirty-six egg-receiving pockets in the tray.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,983,325 12/1934 Swift 217--26.5 2,082,564 6/1937 Benoit 229-29 2,270,030 l/1942 Benoit 229-29 2,378,627 6/1945 Grant 217--265 2,455,295 lil/1948 Cox 229-29 References Cited by the Applicant UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 197,031 12/1963' Reifers. D. 198,056 4/1964 Randall. D. 198,145 5/1964 Randall. D. 198,146 5/1964 Randall.

GEORGE O. RALSTON, Primary Examiner. 

1. A POCKETED EGG TRAY FOR HOLDING A SINGLE LAYER OF EGGS IN CLOSELY SPACED ARRAY WHICH MAY BE INSERTED IN A CONTAINER, THE TRAY BEING IN THE FORM OF AN INTEGRAL MOLDED PULP SHEET BORDERED BY A PERIPHERAL RIM AND CONTOURED TO PROVIDE A PLURALITY OF EGG-RECEIVING POCKETS LYING GENERALLY IN A COMMON SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT PLANE, FOUR UPSTANDING POSTS SURROUNDING EVERY EGG-RECEIVING POCKET AND GENERALLY OCCUPYING THE FOUR CORNERS OF AN IMAGINERY SQUARE, SOME OF THE UPSTANDING POSTS EXTENDING SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER ABOVE THE FLAT PLANE THAN THE REMAINDER OF THE UPSTANDING POSTS, THE REMAINDER OF THE UPSTANDING POSTS AND THE PERIPHERAL RIM EXTENDING ONLY TO A HEIGHT WHICH IS NO MORE THAN APPROXIMATELY TWO-THIRDS THE HEIGHT OF THE HIGHER UPSTANDING POSTS, THE HIGHER UPSTANDING POSTS BEING ARRANGED IN A PATTERN WHEREBY THE FOUR UPSTANDING POSTS SURROUNDING EVERY EGG-RECEIVING POCKET INCLUDE AT LEAST ONE OF THE HIGH POSTS AND AT LEAST TWO OF THE REMAINING LOW POSTS, THE LATTER TWO BEING LOCATED DIAGONALLY FROM EACH OTHER ON THE IMAGINARY SQUARE TO FACILITATE FINGERTIP INSERTION FOR EGG REMOVAL, AND THE UPPER SURFACES OF THE HIGHER UPSTANDING POSTS LYING GENERALLY IN A COMMON SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT PLANE ESSENTIALLY PARALLEL WITH THE PLANE IN WHICH THE BOTTOMS OF THE POCKETS LIE TO FORM SUPPORT SURFACES FOR THE UPPER WALL OF THE CONTAINER IN WHICH THE TRAY MAY BE INSERTED. 